1. Field of the Invention
This disclosure relates to fabrication systems, and in particular, to color management for printing operations for sheet material such as that used in the fabrication of garments.
2. Description of Related Art
Mass production of apparel is increasingly automated. For example, a variety of software tools are available to assist with design and production. One type of software that provides great flexibility is that of pattern management software. Current pattern management software provides users with the capability to layout and adjust the various parts that become a garment once all are sewn together.
The currently available pattern management software has a variety of limitations. For example, parts of a garment are shown only by the outline of their respective shapes. In some instances, this is workable. However, as manufacture nears production, this is problematic.
Consider production of apparel that includes heavily patterned material, such as striped or plaid material. Throughout the entire process, the fabric “pattern” has never come into play. There are third party applications that take the outline of each piece of a pattern that is exported from the pattern management software, and permit users to then fill the outline with patterns and colors. While this can help designers with visualizing a product, this approach does not provide a needed level of manufacturing control.
Consider, for example, that color is important to a designer. Moving the images between applications tends to exacerbate any inaccuracies in color. Accordingly, initial production may require careful inspections of an initial production, process adjustment and repetition. This is not without cost and lost production time. If adjustments are required, this process can be quite expensive.
What are needed are techniques for improving color management in the manufacture of fabrics, in particular for the manufacture of printed fabric used to assemble garments. Preferably, the techniques facilitate the design process.